There has been concern about the role of analgesics in the development of renal-cell cancer, although a few studies have reported moderately elevated risks with regular or long-term use.

In a large international case-control study of renal-cell cancer we examined, among other hypotheses, the effect of phenacetin-containing and of other types of analgesics : paracetamol (acetaminophen), salicylates (mainly aspirin) and pyrazolones (e.g., antipyrine or phenazone).

Relative risks, adiusted for the effects of age, sex, body-mass index, tobacco smoking and study centre, were not significantly increased with intake of phenacetin, either when lifetime consumption was categorized at the level of =0.1 kg or when subjects were subdivided further by amount.

Nor were paracetamol, salicylates or pyrazolones linked with renal-cell cancer.

No consistently increasing risks with consumption level was found.

The lack of association was not altered by restricting analgesic use to that which occurred 5 or 10 years before the defined « cut-off » date or when analysis was restricted to exclusive users of a particular type of analgesic.